Green Living
7 Best Sustainable Workwear Brands to Elevate Your Office Attire
Finding dress-code compliant workwear that you actually like wearing is already not easy. Add on top of that that it’s made ethically with more sustainable materials? You might be searching for weeks. Thus this guide to ethical and sustainable workwear brands was born!
Note that there are affiliate links in this guide, which means we may earn a commission if you choose to purchase through one of these links at no additional cost to you.
What Qualifies as More Sustainable Work Clothing?
As with all things sustainable fashion, there are a lot of layers to it!
Secondhand Workwear
First off, repurposing what you have and shopping secondhand is always a good idea. It’s also often more affordable.
But it tends to be quite tough to find something like quality well-fitting workwear from a thrift shop. So you might want to try a searchable marketplace, such as:
- The RealReal (more premium brands and prices)
- thredUP (sells all types of brands). This online consignment store even has a workwear thrift shop collection, making it easier to find items like secondhand trousers, sheath dresses, blouses, and loafers.
Responsible Materials and Production
When shopping for new more sustainable workwear, here’s the criteria I’m looking for:
- Certified — or otherwise guaranteed — organic natural fibers (if using synthetics, then they should be recycled, but I do tend towards natural fibers over even recycled synthetics due to concerns about microplastics and my own skin health)
- Traceability throughout the brand’s supply chain,
- Transparency around their environmental impact with clear goals and progress towards reducing that impact
- A commitment to genuine partnerships with supplier factories and farms, and assurance of fair worker wages
- Prioritization of quality over quantity
- Circularity efforts such as repair programs and resale options
Where to Find More Sustainable Workwear
These slow fashion brands have button-ups and blazers, well-fitted trousers, silky blouses, and sheath dresses suitable for a formal dress code and some sustainable workwear-inspired options for a business casual dress code.
1. Eileen Fisher
Categories: Blazers, Shirts, Trousers, Dresses & Skirts
Size Range: XXS – 3XL + Petites
Price Point: $$$
Sustainability-forward brand EILEEN FISHER is known for their industry-leading circularity practices as much as their elegant timeless clothing. Among the slow fashion label’s versatile garments, there are plenty of pieces that can serve as office attire, like the brand’s TENCEL
2. Filippa K
Categories: Blazers, Shirts, Trousers, Dresses & Skirts
Size Range: EU 30 – 44
Price Point: $$$$
For over 30 years, Filippa K has been dedicated to crafting thoughtfully designed classics that embody Scandinavian minimalism. Beyond the brand’s dedication to the “less but better” ethos, Fillipa K is deeply committed to sustainability with their traceability and social responsibility initiatives along with ambitious goals (and impressive progress) towards greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Find sustainable workwear in materials like GOTS-certified organic cotton and GRS (Global Recycling Standard) recycled fabrics.
3. Kotn
Categories: Women’s Blazers, Shirts, Trousers | Men’s Jackets, Shirts, and Trousers
Size Range: XS – XXL
Price Range: $$
With contemporary takes on timeless wardrobe staples — like loose-fit trousers and striped blazers — offer an opportunity to add some personality to your sustainable workwear attire.
As the name suggests, the B Corp certified Canadian slow fashion brand uses primarily cotton for their garments. Kotn partners directly with the cotton farms they source from and traceability of their supply chain from the raw materials to the garment’s final stitch.
4. M.M. Lafleur
Categories: Jackets, Trousers, Work Dresses, Pencil Skirts, Sheath Dresses
Size Range: EU 30 – 44
Price Point: $$$
M.M. Lafleur is not necessarily the most sustainable brand on this list, but they do have the most work clothes for women with plenty of suiting options, including tailored jackets and streamlined trousers.
The brand uses some lower impact fabrics including LENZING
5. ASKET
Categories: Men’s Polos, Shirts, and Trousers | Women’s Shirts
Size Range: XS – XXL
Price Point: $$
We love a brand that has sustainability commitments as bold as its’ marketing. As the Swedish brand writes: “the world doesn’t need another fashion brand.” That’s why ASKET is committed to doing less, better. Instead of churning out new styles every season, the brand has a permanent collection so they can obsess over creating the best fit and using the best fibers for those pieces. Now that’s slow fashion. The brand
6. Encircled
Categories: Trousers, Jackets, Blouses
Size Range: XS – XXL (petite and tall options)
Price Point: $$
Prioritizing comfort as much as they do sustainability, Encircled has a “workleisure capsule” that looks dressy enough for the office and feels comfy enough to wear off-duty. The pieces are designed to be effortlessly mixed and matched to make early morning workday dressing a breeze.
The Canadian slow fashion brand crafts their garments ethically in Toronto from ultra-soft lower impact fabrics like LENZING
7. Amour Vert
Categories: Blazers, Blouses, Trousers, and Dresses
Size Range: XS – XXL
Price Point: $$
Many of Amour Vert’s feminine blouses and workwear staples are made with lower impact fabrics, such as TENCEL
Bonus: CLOECO for Workwear Stockings
For workwear undergarments, a great pair of hosiery is often an essential in cooler weather. However, most tights are synthetic, itchy, and end up ripping after a few wears.
Enter in CLOECO: a sustainable undergarments brand that is redefining hosiery with their comfortable, high-quality, plant-based tights made from TENCEL
To Complete Your Sustainable Workwear Ensemble:
Sustainable Flats to Take You from Day to Night
The Best Eco-Friendly Vegan Handbags
Fair Trade Jewelry Brands That Shine
The post 7 Best Sustainable Workwear Brands to Elevate Your Office Attire appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
7 Best Sustainable Workwear Brands to Elevate Your Office Attire